Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland. (Jason Franson/CP)
EDMONTON — Eight pre-season games are in the books, finally, and what we have learned about this Edmonton Oilers team?
When it comes to the salary cap, they’re screwed.
One hundred and sixty five dollars.
That was walking around money, back in the day when we used to carry “walking around money.”
Today, that is the amount of cap flexibility the Oilers have as they enter the 2022-23 season deep into Long Term Injury Reserve.
So, as we offer our collective relief — after a 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken — that another stultifying pre-season is now in the rear view mirror, what greets general manager Ken Holland’s team is a level of roster inflexibility never before seen here in Edmonton.
For starters, as we await Saturday’s 2 pm ET announcement on whether winger Mattias Janmark will clear waivers, that $1.25 million salary will solve a lot of issues if it lands elsewhere in the NHL. If he does not get claimed, as we suspect will be the case, Edmonton will be forced to place Devin Shore and his $850,000 salary on the waiver wire as a response, in their quest to be cap compliant by Monday.
If Shore goes unclaimed, then Edmonton — which could be running that scant 21-man roster for the foreseeable future — will have a fourth line missing veterans Shore and Janmark, but including minor league vet Brad Malone, Derek Ryan, and perhaps even Jesse Puljujarvi.
Kailer Yamamoto and Warren Foegele are both injured to some unknown degree, but for the purposes of this column we’ll assume they’ll be ready to play by Wednesday night. A such, this is our best guess on how the Oilers will line up when the rosters are declared on Monday:
Malone - Ryan - Puljujarvi
Once the Oilers get to Opening Day on Wednesday however, a few things could happen. But remember, Edmonton has exactly $165 in wiggle room — so they can’t do much.
In order to call up a million dollar player the Oilers have to send $1 million or more in contracts down to Bakersfield.
One move we could see Edmonton making on Wednesday morning, simply on the strength of their respective training camp performances, is to call defenceman Markus Niemelainen up to the big club and send Philip Broberg down. Broberg has to start the season on the NHL roster because of bonus clauses, but Niemelainen outplayed Broberg this fall.
We suspect Niemelainen will be farmed out over the weekend, but may not leave Edmonton. Broberg, meanwhile, did not seize his training camp opportunity, and would not be hurt by a little more AHL seasoning. That’s a move that is easily made as neither player requires waivers, and Broberg ($863,333) makes more money than Niemelainen ($762,500).
Up front it gets more complex, however.
Let’s say that Janmark and Shore remain Oilers, and both are sent down to the AHL on Sunday so the team can be cap compliant on Monday. Ideally, you’d like to have Malone in Bakersfield, and one or both of Shore and Janmark on the NHL roster.
But how do you get them there?
Malone makes $762,500. Shore makes $850,000. Janmark makes $1.25 million.
Alone, Malone’s demotion does not open up enough cap space to bring up either Shore or Janmark. But perhaps the roughly $100,000 gained in the Niemelainen-Broberg swap allows for a Shore-Malone swap.
How did we get here?
Well, as some folks would say, it’s always Jesse Puljujarvi who gets the blame.
Holland spent the summer trying unsuccessfully to trade Puljujarvi and his $3 million salary, and built a roster that was supposed to have the flexibility provided by having moved out $3 million in salary.
Holland wanted a second round pick for the big Finn, and couldn’t find one on the open market. Give Holland credit for sticking to his price, but this bind he is in is a result of that as well.
Warren Foegele was another trade target, but with two years left at $2.75, he is harder to move than Puljujarvi, who has only this season left on his contract.
Could Holland cave, and move Puljujarvi for a third round pick, and maybe a fifth?
It would solve his cap issues, but he’ll likely let the season play out and see if injuries find some relief for his roister plight.
You can change your selections at any time.
Select as many teams as you like from the leagues below. You can change your selection at any time.
Selections might be changed at any time.
Select additional sports and leagues you’re interested in from the list below.
To see your localized preferences, please enable geolocation services in your browser settings.
Would you like to create an account so you can see these Favourites on your other devices too?
Customize your Sportsnet lineup for the latest news from your favourite leagues and teams.
Customize your lineup with your favourite leagues and teams.
There isn’t enough recent news in your lineup. We’ll give you the latest news when it becomes available, or feel free to add some more selections to your settings.
Customize your Sportsnet lineup for the latest news from your favourite leagues and teams.
Customize your lineup with your favourite leagues and teams.
There isn’t enough recent news in your lineup. We’ll give you the latest news when it becomes available, or feel free to add some more selections to your settings.
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
By checking this box, I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of Rogers Media.
Don't miss out - sign up for our newsletters! (approx 1 - 2 per week)
An error has occurred while trying to update your details. Please contact us.
Next, select your favourite teams and leagues and we’ll show you their latest news and scores in the My Favourites section of the home page.
Don't miss out - sign up for our newsletters! (approx 1 - 2 per week)
By checking this box, I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of Rogers Media.
We didn't recognize that password reset code. Enter your email address to get a new one.
Sorry we could not verify that email address. Enter your email below and we'll send you another email.